Thanks for the comments, visit Author Talk by Jill Monroe
Jill Monroe commented that more Okie authors are on her blog Author Talk being interviewed and just having a very good time. Go see PC Cast, Sharon Sala, Rachel Vincent, Linda Goodnight and Jordan Dane. Maybe she can get Mel Odom and Sharon Sala to do one together, I saw them on a panel at the Red Dirt Book Festival (or it could have been the OK Poet & Writers in Tulsa or the Oklahoma Library Association conference, the memory is the first to go, I do remember it was a panel and I’m sure I was there) together and they were so funny, in fact they could have sold tickets. I just clicked on the Red Dirt site, and Mel popped right up, straight from 2007.
I sure hope he plans on being at the 2009. (You’ll hear more from me about this book and author event in the future. Block November 5-7, 2009, on your calendar now)
NewsOK is going to update my wordpress blog and I’m getting a facelift, so after that happens I’m going to fix my blogroll, and categories in a way I think will be more useful. I’m always interested in finding OK Author blogs to blogroll.
Oklahoma Author Blogs, Mel Odom, etc.
I’m a Mel Odom fan and look at his blogs frequently. I’ve noticed he posts many other Oklahoma authors to his blogroll. So here is my attempt to get us looking for those Okie authors and what they have to say about what they’re reading, writing, doing or just opinionating on. I think it’s interesting that more of the SciFi and Romance writers seem willing to get in there and talk to their fans and readers.
Odom has his Adventures in Writing , looks like he’s freezing at home like the rest of us this week. He also has BookHound, my personal favorite. Mel also contributes to Blogcritics magazine.
Gena Showalter, is hot, hot, hot. Start at her blog. And I just mentioned Showalter and low and behold I find her and Merline, on Merline Lovelace’s website in a Youtube video. (Be patient it takes a while to load).
Jill Monroe, who is also on the video has a blog. Jordan Dane, has a three book series out (which I’m the proud owner of, but haven’t finished yet so you won’t get any information out of me). Here is her myspace page blog.
What’s progressing with C.J. Cherryh?
Christine Rimmer is an incredibly generous author who gave free books to the Oklahoma Department of Libraries for our women correctional institutions. Much appreciated.
And I need to add a mystery writer to the list, William Bernhardt, and might I say Congratulations on your marriage!! We just received his new book, Nemesis, at the library.
So start looking for others to add to this list and I’ll be happy to post them.
Sad news on a Cold day, John Updike has died
Pulitzer Prize winning author John Updike has passed away at age 76 from lung cancer. Our literary bestseller. His latest book Widows of Eastwick, is a followup to the Witches of Eastwick. Here’s an interesting take on his life and works from Salon.com.
Here’s a link to all things Updike.
Bookmarking by Chris Carroll provides additional information and sources for Updike devotees.
Author to Watch: LANCE HAWVERMALE
I just finished the mystery, The Tongue Merchant by Lance Hawvermale. Lance’s bio on the internet is a little hard to interpret Okiewise, but I think he is from Cherokee, Oklahoma, or at least went to High School there. I may have found that information on his MySpace page. The cover of this novel was a little offputting for me, I thought it might be techno thriller, with those many pages of what the inside of a submarine looks like or intense descriptions of ballistic weapondry. Fortunately for me that was not the case.
If this novel had been written by a more established author in the mystery genre, the reviewers would have been all abuzz. So I take exception to Harriet Klausner’s review that seems lackluster, on Genre Go Round Reviews. Set in the Caribbean, with a hurricane bearing down to intensifiy the action, Coast Guard Lieutenant Marcella Paraizo investigates the murder of her friend, ‘Bella’. There are many twists and turns to the novel, no bogging down of plot in the middle (as so often happens in mysteries). And Lance can really write the female protagonist character.
There are many characters to follow and sort out as the investigation intensifies. I had to keep reminding myself who was who, but it doesn’t deter from a well established plot, plenty of action, a sympathetic main character and supporting male roles. What does the fact that Bella’s tongue was cut out during her murder, have to do with her death? What about the Adelbert stamp found in her shoe? Is Leo a good guy or a bad one? And Kyle….
From Hawvermale’s website, it appears he has written two other books under the name, Erin O’Rourke. And thanks for putting a link to “Libraries that own your titles” linking to WorldCat. It’s good to find authors who don’t think of us (librarians) as the people keeping others from ‘buying’ your books but as promoters and suppliers.
Good Reading News
For the first time in more than 25 years, American adults are reading more literature, according to a survey by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The NEA survey has been conducted five times since 1982, and in 2008 there were 16.6 million more adult readers of literature. Nice to see big figures that have nothing to do with our economy.
This means slightly more than half of all American adults read literature (113 million) or books (119 million). I guess that could be the glass half empty or half full depending on your perspective. The largest increases are reported among young adults ages 18-24, and Hispanic Americans.
Photo on Flickr erix’s photostream.
I’m sharing this information with a colleague who was haranguing me the other day about people not reading especially teens. Hah!
Oklahoma poetry, Howard Starks
All the talk of poetry must have made me hungry to read some. So I went to one of my newest finds, Family Album, by Howard Starks. Starks taught at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, distinguished Alumni Award recipient in 2002.
Tracy Letts in his acknowledgments in the play, August: Osage County, calls him his “late mentor”. And thanks him for his poem, which Tracy has used for the title of his play.
Fortunately my library has Stark’s book of poetry, Family Album. (sorry, no longer in print)
Publisher: Durant, OK: Running Board Press
34 leaves.
Using sepia toned photographs to introduce the poems, we meet him and his family. I know that all of us from Oklahoma or who have parents raised here, have looked at similar photographs of our family, wondered what they were thinking, how life had changed them and reflected on our own image.
from Family Rite
‘In my mother’s sewing room stored
among old dress patterns is the pattern
of our childhoods
in a box
filled with darkness–
old photos in darkness getting arcane
dangerous
as they crisp and dim.
We mostly leave it closed the box
that once held Dad’s Sunday Stetson
for even images of joy can hurt.
(Innocence when recalled harms
careful balances.)
And some of the faces solemn for the camera
speak of hopes
and fears
we’d rather not recall–
make dense in us
the shadowy children we once were.’
Looking through old pictures is a landmind of feelings for most of us. I know some people who can look and see only the good times; parties, Christmases, new babies, and always smiling faces. But Starks reminds us of dreams unfulfilled, hard times, missed opportunities and the realism of life’s lessons.
From Two Girls (The photograph in front of this poem is of two girls, almost women, arms around each other, looking determined into the camera.)
‘Imagine a Voice that day
saying
You will work and work and work
wear out your freshness
in shabby houses and hot fields
scream in birthings
weep alone and wonder
where all this pain came from.
One will cough her life away
at thirty one.
The other will live long
be ground like corn
by a world that whispers
give give give–
there’s more yet to bear.
Having listened these gallant girls
would still have said
Yes
Yes
So be it.’
I look at the photographs and see the ones of my Grandma, Mom, our old houses and broken down buildings, cars and flowers in the yard, all surrounded by the nostalgia and melancholy of the past, yet integral to who I am.
Great stuff.
Avoiding poem controversy go for Simple Gifts
Over at Chris’ Bookmarking blog, there seems to be a poetry controversy going on, just the fact we can have a poetry controversy is a good thing. On most days it’s hard to get anyone to talk about poetry, must less post on the internet about it, or have an opinion.
My favorite from the Inauguration, was the music based on the Shaker song by Elder Joseph called “Simple Gifts”.
- ‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free,
- ‘Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
- And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
- ‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
- When true simplicity is gain’d,
- To bow and to bend we shan’t be asham’d,
- To turn, turn will be our delight,
- Till by turning, turning we come round right.
Beautiful stuff, no controversy.
Off in Inaugural Land
I guess I’ve been off in Inaugural Land. So give me today to get myself back on track and I’ll have a new Okie mystery review for you.
Regional Book and Authors, Promoting and reviewing our own, Where’s this blog headed
I’m very interested in how regional books, or books by regional authors, are reported and reviewed. I’ve found a few places of interest, but not a whole lot.
While looking up New Mexico authors and books I came across this website, called New West, with a book section, that includes news, author interviews, and reviews. New West Network seems to concentrate on “news that matters to the Rocky Mountain West”. In the Best Books summaries, the states listed were Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming and other Western states.
There’s http://www.utexas.edu/opa/blogs/shelflife/, to promote the writings of the University of Texas folks. Texas book blogsters are all over the place, Will’s Texas Parlor, Texas Bookshelf, and the Young Texas Reader, to name a few.
Louisiana has an LSU book blog, many of the state’s have university press blogs, usually only promoting their own titles. Which in no way is meant as a criticism.
But I’m finding that many local authors and books, of very fine quality, are missed by the larger literary newspapers and blogs. What other blogs are you finding that give regional coverage a priority? And in Oklahoma, where do we fall regionally. Are we South, West, Central, most of us don’t consider ourselves Midwest, where do our authors fit into the geographical conundrum that is Oklahoma?
Many times the only place we see local writers reviewed are in local newspapers whose book coverage is minimal at best, and shrinking. So the question for me becomes one of whether I should only review Oklahoma books and Oklahoma authors, tossing in a few regional folks or continue to review all types of literature as it appeals to me, of which many titles are already receiving widespread reviewing and coverage.
Much to ponder….
Regional Book and Authors, Promoting and reviewing our own, Where’s this blog headed
I’m very interested in how regional books, or books by regional authors, are reported and reviewed. I’ve found a few places of interest, but not a whole lot.
While looking up New Mexico authors and books I came across this website, called New West, with a book section, that includes news, author interviews, and reviews. New West Network seems to concentrate on “news that matters to the Rocky Mountain West”. In the Best Books summaries, the states listed were Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming and other Western states.
There’s http://www.utexas.edu/opa/blogs/shelflife/, to promote the writings of the University of Texas folks. Texas book blogsters are all over the place, Will’s Texas Parlor, Texas Bookshelf, and the Young Texas Reader, to name a few.
Louisiana has an LSU book blog, many of the state’s have university press blogs, usually only promoting their own titles. Which in no way is meant as a criticism.
But I’m finding that many local authors and books, of very fine quality, are missed by the larger literary newspapers and blogs. What other blogs are you finding that give regional coverage a priority? And in Oklahoma, where do we fall regionally. Are we South, West, Central, most of us don’t consider ourselves Midwest, where do our authors fit into the geographical conundrum that is Oklahoma?
Many times the only place we see local writers reviewed are in local newspapers whose book coverage is minimal at best, and shrinking. So the question for me becomes one of whether I should only review Oklahoma books and Oklahoma authors, tossing in a few regional folks or continue to review all types of literature as it appeals to me, of which many titles are already receiving widespread reviewing and coverage.
Much to ponder….
